Budget

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The term budget is used in a variety of ways in the overall context of the Congressional budget process. The term within Congress usually refers to the Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, legally required to be adopted by Congress annually (though seldom has been). Depending on the context, however, it might refer to the President’s annual budget submission, as required by 31 U.S.C. 1105, the overall annual appropriation process, or it might be used as a vague reference to the overall spending associated with the Federal Government.

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GAO Glossary of Terms and Definition (September 2005)

Budget (GAO)

A detailed statement of anticipated revenues and expenditures during an accounting period. For the federal government, the term “budget” often refers to the President’s budget submission to Congress early each calendar year in accordance with the Budget and Accounting Act of 1921, as amended, and represents proposals for congressional consideration. The President’s budget includes requests for budget authority for federal programs and estimates of revenues and outlays for the upcoming fiscal year and, with respect to budget authority requests in some cases, for future fiscal years. By law, elements of the budget, such as the estimates for the legislative branch and the judiciary, must be included without review by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) or approval by the President. In the context of individual federal agencies and their programs, the term “budget” also may be used to refer to their budget submissions or, in response to Congress passing laws providing budget authority, the agencies’ plans for spending the funds they were provided. (See also President’s Budget; app. I.)

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